Andy Potts of the U.S. and Angela Naeth of Canada won the men’s and women’s titles at Ironman 70.3 Eagleman.
Men
Long story short, Andy Potts won Eagleman 70.3 on the swim. Potts’s race-best 23:43 split was 1:14 better than David Kahn of the U.S., 1:27 better than Igor Amorelli of Brazil, 1:29 better than Greg Bennett of the U.S., 2:33 better than Mark Bowstead of New Zealand, 2:37 better than Viktor Zyemtsev of the Ukraine, 2:43 better than Jordan Jones of the U.S. As things turned out, most significantly, Potts’ swim was 2:44 better than James Cunnama of South Africa.
On the bike, Greg Bennett charged hard and caught Potts (2:08:20) with a race-fastest 2:06:50 split that gave him a 3 seconds lead into T2. Amorelli (2:06:57) trailed by 5 seconds, while Zyemtsev (2:08:04) and Cunnama (2:08:05) trailed by 2 minutes 36 seconds.
From the start of the run, Bennett slowly gave ground, Potts held the lead at 1:13 pace and Cunnama put on a tremendous surge to advance toward the front. At 6.55 miles, Potts led Cunnama by 1:27, Bennett by 2:11 and Zyemtsev, on his way to a 1:16 run, held 4th 3:39 down.
At the finish, Potts’ 2nd-best 1:13:30 run was enough to hold off Cunnama’s race-fastest 1:12:16 run. Potts won in a time of 3:47:46 by a 1:14 margin over runner-up Cunnama. Zyemtsev’s 1:16:39 run brought him past Bennett (1:19:50 run) for the final spot on the podium, 5:38 behind Potts and 41 seconds ahead of Bennett. Amorelli (1:21:16 run) took 5th, 1:19 behind Bennett.
Women
Angela Naeth overcame a 3:56 deficit to Laura Bennett after the swim with a smashing, race-best 2:18:29 bike split that was 6:12 faster than her American rival. Naeth then sealed the deal with a race-fastest 1:23:27 run that added 50 seconds to her lead over Bennett. At the finish, Naeth’s 4:14:06 finish provided her with a 3 minutes 15 seconds margin of victory over two-time U.S. Olympian Bennett, who took the runner-up slot, 5:05 ahead of 3rd-place finisher Amber Ferreira of the U.S. Ashley Clifford of the U.S. posted the 2nd-fastest 1:23:50 run which brought her to 4th overall, 27 seconds back of Ferreira.
Unfortunately, defending Eagleman champion Meredith Kessler crashed on the bike and was taken by ambulance to a hospital.
Ironman 70.3 Eagleman
Cambridge, Maryland
June 9, 2013
S 1.2 mi. / B 56 mi. / R 13.1 mi.
Results
Men
1. Andy Potts (USA) 3:47:46
2. James Cunnama (RSA) 3:49:00
3. Viktor Zyemtsev (UKR) 3:53:24
4. Greg Bennett (USA) 3:54:05
5. Igor Amorelli (BRA) 3:55:24
6. Jordan Jones (USA) 3:59:29
7. Mark Bowstead (NZL) 4:02:39
8. Nathan Buttrick (USA) 4:05:12
9. Grant Bovee (USA) 4:09:00
10. Ryan Bates (USA) 4:11:28
Women
1. Angela Naeth (CAN) 4:14:06
2. Laura Bennett (USA) 4:17:21
3. Amber Ferreira (USA) 4:22:26
4. Ashley Clifford (USA) 4:22:53
5. Sarah Piampiano (USA) 4:25:41
6. Jenna Parker (USA) 4:27:24
7. Kristin Andrews (USA) 4:29:08
8. Annie Gervais (CAN) 4:29:31
9. Beth Shutt (USA) 4:30:08
10. Heather Leiggi (USA) 4:35:01
